An Interview with Mr. Yaseen Ahmed Meenai
(April 13, 2010)

Ms. Ambreen: Bismillah. Mr. Yaseen Ahmed Meenai, we welcome you today here on IBA Radio. First I would like to introduce our team. On technical side here we have Mr. Syed Jibran Bukhari and for our portal and website reporting Mr. Syed Mohsin Naqvi. Welcome to IBA Radio Mr. Meenai.
Mr. Meenai: I want to thank IBA Radio team for inviting me today here for this interview.

Ms. Ambreen: Tell our listeners something about your childhood.
Mr. Meenai: I was a naughty boy. I liked the game of “Hide and Seek” and I remember when I used to hide, my friends could hardly find me. I liked to climb the trees and with my friends used to throw water on other people using plastic bags.

Ms. Ambreen: Kindly enlighten about your initial education and career.
Mr. Meenai: I started my education from Little Folks’ School, later on named as Karachi Folks’ School. I completed my Intermediate from Govt. College Gulshan-e-Iqbal and B.Sc. from Govt. National College, Karachi. Then I started a job. In 1998 I joined University of Karachi for my Masters. For my education, I decided to leave that job and I remember that was the most difficult time for me. I received a silver medal as a result of my Masters.
In the year 2000, I started teaching at Karachi University and after serving six years in KU, I joined IBA in 2005 and must say that IBA gave me professional training and recognition. In 2006; I received an HEC Award for the best teacher of the year. One thing I found here is that students have given me a lot of respect.

Ms. Ambreen: What is your Star?
Mr. Meenai: LEO

Ms. Ambreen: What do think about this star? 
Mr. Meenai: Everybody says that his/her star is good but I believe that LEO is the symbol of leadership. The history tells that many great leaders belong to this star.

Ms. Ambreen: Tell us about your interests and hobbies.
Mr. Meenai: I love to watch television. 

Ms. Ambreen: What types of programs you watch on TV?
Mr. Meenai: I like to watch movies especially English movies. I advise my students and other people not to watch STAR-TV dramas rather watch Discovery and National Geographic type of channels. These channels are very informative and I have taken many ideas from these channels to give projects to my students.

Ms. Ambreen: We were talking about luminary. Do you believe in the study of hands?
Mr. Meenai: Yes, I believe that personality of a person is reflected by the shape of his/her hand. I have also done a lot work on hand images. Humans are also exploring new ideas by the study and researches of DNA. Each human contains a whole world inside him/her.

Ms. Ambreen: Do you think that human personality and characteristics change over time?
Mr. Meenai: By passing the age humans change their habits and behavior but there are few characteristics which are not changed up to the old age.

Ms. Ambreen: You are the Patron of Alumni Society. Please tell us some of its activities.
Mr. Meenai: Basically it is a Society providing services. All those students who pass out from IBA become IBA alumni. The Alumni Society has a close contact with them. The Society has conducted many programs like Alumni Reunion, Alumni Mentoring Dinners etc. The aim is that our alumni should gather together and give ideas to our current students.

Ms. Ambreen: If you are appointed as Education Minister, what steps will you take for the benefit of education? 
Mr. Meenai: First I would like to ask that for how long? It depends because if I have been appointed for a short period of time then I can’t do anything. A lot of reforms are to be done. Anyway if I get proper time for my ministry, first step I will take will be to cease the politics among the teachers and the students. We have very good and talented students in our country. The only thing is that we have to exploit their talents and take them to the right direction. I have good hopes that Insha Allah eventually Pakistan will flourish. 

Ms. Ambreen: Do you think that you achieved what you wanted with careers point of view?
Mr. Meenai: I could not think that I would go in the teaching field. Sometimes in our young age we can’t anticipate our future career.

Ms. Ambreen: How do you motivate your students towards education.
Mr. Meenai: I create a competitive environment which produces very good results. Secondly I ask my students to select projects in which they have interest.

Ms. Ambreen: Would you like to give a message to our students?
Mr. Meenai:  Always be honest and speak truth. Recognize yourself and explore hidden talents within you. Discuss your personality with others and get feedback about yourself. Adopt humanity and reject bad characteristics and habits. Our youth has a lot of talents and I have learned a lot from them.  

Ms. Ambreen: With this question, we come to an end of the interview because Mr. Meenai has to go for a class. We want to thank Mr. Meenai again for giving his precious time for this interview.   
Mr. Meenai: Thank you and Allah Hafiz.

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During the interview:

• Background music was played.
• Songs were played during question breaks.
• Questions were asked by students on Facebook and answered by Mr. Meenai.
• There was an Azan break also.
• Mr. Meenai presented poetry of some famous poets.